KIRKUS REVIEW

After an alien invasion, the
survival of humanity depends on teenage brothers.

At the close of series opener The Rains (2016), Chance and his older
brother, Patrick, were separated, and Chance encountered an alien rebel who
told him that humanity’s fate depends on his staying out of the aliens’
clutches. As this book opens, he’s been caught, and an alien scan identifies
him. Although readers are tossed quickly into the action, a brief synopsis
reminds them of the spores that turned those over 18 into mindless workers who
prepared Earth for the arrival of the alien Drones and Queens who, with
assistance from the already-turned Hosts, round up kids and teens and make them
into Husks that incubate the alien Hatchlings. Patrick and his girlfriend—whom
Chance also loves—arrive and rescue him, and the three flee to their high
school, where survivors have established a base of operations and where a
thinly developed bully character represents the man-is-the-true-danger figure
that all post-apocalyptic books seem to need these days (this storyline is
exceptionally forced). Alien rebels reveal how to stop the invasion and its
required cost—which has been telegraphed in the novel’s epigraph, leaving no
surprises. The novel’s conceit—that it’s been written by Chance as journal entries—distracts,
but the endless action is solid. The narrative defaults to white, with
exceptions identified by ethnicity (a Tongan ranch hand) or name (Dr.
Chatterjee).

Bestselling thriller writer Hurwitz adds to his string of imaginative novels with Don't Look Back, an action-adventure story ready for blockbuster Hollywood. We talk to Hurwitz about the Mexican setting of the novel and how he keeps readers turning pages.
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